Halfway Home!

Today I am 20 weeks! I am so overjoyed and feel unbelievably blessed to be pregnant and to have a healthy baby. I know that now is when I will really start to balloon, but I just love it! Every day I look at my perfect round tummy and just want to give it a hug. I feel fabulous and I'm truly loving every minute of it.

We went with my midwife to the Middle Tennessee Women's Health Group this past Wednesday for an ultrasound and an OB consult. Before the ultrasound, I really wasn't that into it. The only reason I was getting one was because Mary Anne wanted me to. She wants to know where the placenta is attached and various other things. I, personally, didn't care. I have very mixed feelings about ultrasounds. For one, I just don't think they have been around long enough to know if they are safe or not. People used to only have one and no more unless there was the suspicion of a problem, now women have one at 8 weeks and then subsequent ultrasounds in the prenatal visits following. So use has definitely become more and more common, but there are no long term studies since ultrasounds weren't even used until the 80's and have only been used regularly in the recent years. For two, I personally felt that if the ultrasound showed a problem or a birth defect, it wouldn't "prepare me emotionally" it would steal my joy. So for me, its not that I was afraid of something being wrong, it was that I just wanted to rely on the Lord and trust that he is the one growing my child. I know a lot of other parents would want to know ahead of time so they can prepare, but I just don't think I would. I don't think that 5 months would help me much, it would only upset me. BUT.. all that to say, that I did enjoy the ultrasound. There really is nothing like actually seeing the baby. Tiny arms, tiny legs, tiny ribs that look like fish bones. A tiny mouth, that made tiny little swallows. Tiny muscles that he/she flexed for us. No, we did not find out the gender. The tech said that she would not even go to that area if we didn't want to know, that she would try to keep from knowing herself. I think she did see, because she told me to close my eyes once (and I did!) so it remains a surprise for us! Our ultrasound revealed a perfect, healthy baby (only one baby!) and we walked away feeling in awe of the growing miracle in my body.

The OB consult was just that, a consult. I met with Dr. Davis who was extremely nice and didn't look at her watch once (hehe). She would be my OB if I was ever in need of one. She was very supportive and thought it was great we are doing a home birth, answered a few of my questions, and then we were off, saying "Nice to meet you, but hope we never see you again!" Mary Anne knows this office very well as she brings most of her clients here, and she goes there herself for her annuals, so it was a very relaxed and personal environment.

I am just so excited and am really the happiest I've been in my whole life. I love feeling my baby twist and flex those little muscles. I can imagine now what each little twitch is since he/she was active during my ultrasound. I think about when he/she's sleeping and when he/she's practicing swallowing and flexing those lungs. You could say that I'm totally in love!

Further reading:
A really interesting article about ultrasounds and detecting problems early